The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
Title/Author: The Vagina Monologues/Eve EnslerPublisher: Villard Books
No. of pages: 223
ISBN: 0-345-49860-1
In a nutshell
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler, which has been staged internationally. Every monologue relates to the female's 'down there'. No. Sorry. Vagina. There you go, Ensler. I said it :P There's sex, love, rape, masturbation, orgasm, the various names of the vagina, etc. There are sections where Ensler asked questions like, "If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?", and "If your vagina could talk, what would it say, in two words?" and "What does a vagina smell like?"
What I liked and didn't quite like
When Ensler asked a six-year-old girl some of the questions above, and "What's special about your vagina?" to which the little girl answered, "Somewhere deep inside it I know it has a really really smart brain." (Now I know why we're the smarter species. We have 2 brains! haha :P)
The Vagina Monologues has reached out to millions of women and has received both positive and negative reviews. Some thought the monologues played a negative perception of sexuality and has an anti-male bias. Some thought they were life-changing.
I did like some of the monologues. Some of them do make a great stage play, as you can view from the many youtube videos. (A Malaysian version of The Vagina Monologues, was staged in KL, in January 2002) However, they didn't help me view 'me' in a different light, or made me respect my body even more. Purely because I don't see how by loving your vagina, by knowing or understanding this part of your body, can help you gain some sort of 'revelation'. There are so many other ways to learn how to gain respect.
First, you need to learn to love and respect yourself, as a woman. Loving yourself means taking care of what makes you, you. When you do so, you'd automatically treat your entire body well (vagina included of course); you'd give it proper TLC. Go for a Brazilian wax if you want to, as long as it makes you feel good about yourself! (A woman in TVM doesn't think so though. She talks about it in 'Hair'. She said "It felt like it was on fire." Maybe she didn't go to a professional.) Second, know your rights as a woman and don't be afraid to be say "No" or turn away requests that would ruin your self esteem. Only when you respect yourself, that you'd gain respect.
But we're all created differently, hence we learn things differently. If these monologues have helped changed lives of millions of women and 'gives voice to real women's deepest fantasies and fears, guaranteeing that no one who reads it will ever look at a woman's body, or think of sex, in quite the same way again.', then I'm all for what Ensler's doing. (I guess, controversy does sell and creates an impact, huh)
That said, this is one of the performances I liked. I thought this lady did an amazing job! (Recording isn't really clear though)
Verdict: 2.7/5
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